News

Emergency plan to save Christmas post from chaos

ROYAL MAIL is to hire an army of 30,000 extra workers to cope with this week's postal strike and clear the growing backlog of undelivered letters.

The delivery service traditionally hires about 15,000 extra staff in the run-up to Christmas but this year it is bringing forward its seasonal recruitment and doubling the numbers.

Bosses hope the extra personnel will help to ease the worst effects of two 24-hour nationwide strikes due to start on Thursday.

There is growing public anger at the disruption to services and the backlog of letters and parcels piling up at delivery centres after a wave of regional industrial action.

Royal Mail should have no trouble hiring the temporary workers: it has received more than 85,000 applications. The extra manpower will be desperately needed if postal workers stage further strikes in the run-up to Christmas.

Royal Mail is also establishing five additional dedicated sorting centres